Industry bespoke software solutions provider NSoft has begun 2019 strongly winning/renewing a number of new key accounts. The Bosnian based technology group credits expanding its Research & Development unit which has aided its product quality output and all-around operational procedures.
SBC speaks to NSoft R&D Director Mensur Djogic on the importance of building effective research structures which can challenge industry norms and deliver long-term benefits and growth prospects.
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SBC: Hi Mensur, thanks for this interview. In 2019 why should all betting/gaming stakeholders care about the development of R&D as an industry discipline?
Mensur Djogic: In this fast and agile market, being average is a one-way ticket to failure. Research & Development plays a very important role in the success of NSoft contributing to its sustainability. We all know how the vibrant betting/gaming industry keeps us yearning for its dose of data, trends, and statistics. Having a team devoted to full-time research generates new ideas and technologies setting a company’s long-term development trends.
Additionally, gaming/betting industry is highly dependent on the development of other industries thus getting late with new technologies means you are getting late in race with your competitors. This is something that clearly distinguishes leader tech companies from their followers.
SBC: As a technology incumbent, can you detail NSoft’s unique approach to developing effective R&D procedures?
MD: It is the R&D function to provide creative solutions and innovation. We have a broader focus on technologies and various ongoing projects not directly within the betting industry sphere. Being engaged in technologies at their early starting stage and when/if they grow to something more serious, being the first to introduce them to the betting/gaming industry brings competitive advantages.
A great example is NSoft Vision project presenting a totally different industry that is rapidly developing in the past years. Having a team that researched and worked on it on its early stages, has helped us
having a product that has risen a lot of interest and customer inquiries among industry incumbents.
SBC: What specific industry dynamics/complexities/factors is NSoft’s R&D department exploring, and why is creating a research framework an essential benefit for the long-term growth of the industry?
MD: Having competitive advantages is not just about how good you are, but whether you are fast enough in introducing innovations in order to step ahead of the competition. Every failure in a R&D effort, unfortunately, increases the pressure of outperformance. On a long run it means that being ready to rapidly deploy solutions based on market changes and customer needs enables you to have some extra time for possible transitions and adjustments that usually take a lot of time and preparations.
To sum up, we are actively following the dynamics of many other industries that may influence on having more efficient, faster and cheaper service to our clients. Our interest spreads from hardware and software industries to law regulations that are extremely dynamic and usually differ from region to
region.
SBC: How has R&D helped NSoft service its commercial and wider stakeholder partnerships?
Quite often it happens that the solution for customer’s issue may be connected to the solution deriving from other industries. Covering this aspect and being informed helps us create a solution that doesn’t solve exclusively one client’s issue, but can rather be applied on client’s issues within the entire region. Using R&D for research and problem solving before entering the market consequently influences the penetration flow on new markets that becomes much smoother and directly influences the speed of
new client acquisitions.
SBC: Which outside industries should igaming/betting take its lead from with regards to creating effective research, testing, and better knowledge-led capabilities?
MD: As with many others, igaming/betting industry needs to follow the rapid growth and development of iOT, specialised hardware for AI and Machine Learning technologies. It goes quite deep in other industries too. For example, development and affordability of one hardware component (cheaper displays, single board computers, AI boards, etc) can influence the production and delivery of a product that can either automate manual work in retail or result cheaper and more advanced than others on the market. The company that successfully leverages its R&D efforts and consequently develops new products will, most certainly, find itself ahead of competitors.
SBC: Finally and most importantly, in a disrupted and fast-changing sector such as global betting, do you feel that R&D can be valued or even understood?
MD: NSoft as a quite young company that is already being recognized as a technology leader proves the real value of having R&D department in predicting future technology trends. R&D has proved to be a strategic move for NSoft. Being a fast growing start-up based on research and innovation that delivered results, made it natural to streamline R&D department as a focal innovation unit that provides NSoft with unique market approach. R&D efforts might take a while to materialise, but once they do – the financial returns can be quite high, it becomes no longer regarded as an expenditure but rather as a profitable investment.
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Mensur Djogic – Research & Development Director